


Testing the Hypothesis

by who_la_hoop



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M/M, Multi, community; daily_deviant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-29
Updated: 2008-06-29
Packaged: 2017-10-05 12:13:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/who_la_hoop/pseuds/who_la_hoop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scorpius was a wizard, and he had better things to do with his weekend – namely, figuring out how to divest his boyfriends of their clothing in the shortest amount of time possible, without appearing the least bit desperate. Homework didn't fit anywhere into this scheme, particularly not boring Muggle stuff that had no relevance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Testing the Hypothesis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snegurochka_lee](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=snegurochka_lee).



> Written for Daily_Deviant, for the prompt of 'hedonism'. In this fic, Teddy is 25, James Jr 18 and Scorpius 17.
> 
> Dedicated with affection to [](http://snegurochka-lee.insanejournal.com/profile)[](http://snegurochka-lee.insanejournal.com/)**snegurochka_lee**, who was the first person to bring my new-gen OT3 to life. ♥ James/Scorpius/Teddy FTW!

Sometimes – and recently, more and more often, he had to confess – Scorpius wondered if he had gone insane. Well, he must have, surely? Wasn't his current situation the very definition of insanity? Because there he was – a rich, intelligent, pure blood with standards to maintain and a family reputation to live up to (even if it had taken a little battering in recent years). And there _they_ were. Teddy was bad enough, and not just because he was eight years older, and had the sort of hair that aspired to clash as unpleasantly as possible with whatever he was wearing. But _James Potter_? Whose inability to keep a secret was legendary, who talked rather than thought, and whose father was only Harry sodding Potter? And that was leaving aside the important fact that not only were they both male, and that there were two of them (and what Malfoy had two partners? A wife and a mistress was the standard of course, but that suggested a hierarchy of lovers – and how the hell did a gentleman choose when his heart was torn equally two ways?). It was bizarre and incredible that, of all the potential boyfriends in the world, he'd picked those two.

It was at times like these that Scorpius wished that he had more taste.

And it was at times like these, that Scorpius wished – a small, terrible wish, that he tried to suppress so hard it hurt – that he wasn't a Malfoy and could live and marry as he wished.

It wasn't that he resented, exactly, that he was still at school and that Teddy and James had a large, sunny house with a large, sunny garden, the interior and design of which Scorpius had had far too much of a hand in (because, quite honestly, while he loved many things about the two of them, he could accuse neither of them of having any style when it came to home furnishings). It was just… difficult, to Apparate into the home where he was so welcome, but could never see himself living in. He tried not to dwell. There was no reason why he should feel left out, or that he was any less important to Teddy and James because this could only ever be a temporary thing, this arrangement between the three of them that felt so much like love. And it was fucking annoying to be the schoolboy amongst two working men, and have to do his homework, while they teased him and tried to make him feel like an idiot. So maybe he did resent it. Maybe, just a bit.

And what he hated most, come to think of it – so much so that he wanted to slam his fist into the wall and howl like a dog – was when Teddy, sensible, Ministry-approved scientist Teddy, who was nerdy and quiet (except on special occasions, usually involving flavoured-lube and elf-made wine) – told him to relax and not take things so seriously. How could he relax when his future was mapped out for him, right down to which girl his father would like him to marry, and which family investments he would be put in charge of in lieu of a career?

It was impossible to relax, and impossible to take life less seriously when you were Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. Particularly if you were shagging two blabbermouth Gryffindors who could screw up your entire life with just one sentence spoken carelessly, and not even that, if he were honest. Sod being seventeen, sometimes he felt like he were seven _hundred_ years old. Teddy and James just had no idea.

He had definitely, Scorpius concluded, gone insane.

*****

 

Scorpius tried not to live for the weekend, when he could leave Hogwarts and spend a much-longed for night with Teddy and James. It wasn't so much that he disliked school. It was his final year and while many of his classmates had to spend all of their time studying, he was blessed with the sort of brain that meant he hardly needed to try. Even if he did no work at all he'd comfortably scrape an E in all of his NEWTs with the exception of Muggle Studies, perhaps. He'd taken Muggle Studies mainly to irritate his father, if truth be told, and because he'd thought it would be an easy O. But to his annoyance, rather than teaching them what a battery was or how to replace a light-bulb, the lessons had morphed into detailed studies of Muggle history, philosophy and literature. And to be quite honest, he didn't give a flying fuck about all that Muggle crap. He was a wizard, and he had better things to do with his weekend – namely, figuring out how to divest his boyfriends of their clothing in the shortest amount of time possible, without appearing the least bit desperate. Homework didn't fit anywhere into this scheme, particularly not boring Muggle stuff that had no relevance.

Last weekend, however, Teddy had told him – smiling, but serious – that if he didn't bring his work with him then there'd be consequences, so he reluctantly slung his Muggle studies textbook in his bag before heading off to the place he tried not to think of as home.

The house was empty when he arrived, but when he called out he heard Teddy's voice, very faintly, coming from the garden. He slung down his bag and all but dashed out there, slowing down when he was just out of sight so he could make a better entrance. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his long hair, tugging at his expensive robe to make it sit straight. He threw his shoulders back and sauntered into the garden, unable to stop himself from smiling widely when he caught sight of Teddy, sprawled on a bench with a book in his hands.

Teddy's hair shimmered, as the sandy brown morphed into something deeper and redder in colour. It was his equivalent of smiling, Scorpius always thought, although Teddy's mouth did a good enough job of showing his happiness.

"Scorpius," Teddy said. He didn't rise, but he held out a hand as if to pull Scorpius towards him. "Welcome home."

Scorpius tried not to let his pleasure show in his face. It was important, he thought, that Teddy and James think themselves expendable to him. That he not show himself to be as attached as he was. It was a struggle though, at times. "James not about?"

"He's stuck in Auror training," Teddy said, his hair settling down into a colour that was more red than brown. "But he should be back later today."

"On a Saturday?" Scorpius asked. He still wasn't sure whether the idea of James being an Auror was creepy and inconvenient, or a fucking turn-on. He suspected that it was more of the latter, even though Scorpius knew a great deal of information about a lot of important people that could get them all sent to Azkaban for a good long time.

"Yeah. They're working him to death," Teddy said, wrinkling his nose. "But if I dare say anything against them, he goes mad." He sighed and uncurled his legs from under him. "Enough of that. You've only just got here and I'm already moaning. Can I get you a drink or something?"

_You can give me a hug_, Scorpius wanted to say, but he rolled his eyes and waved a hand dismissively. "If I want a drink I'll get it myself." He strolled over to Teddy and attempted to sit down next to him, but Teddy tugged him onto his lap and kissed him. Teddy's hands were gentle in Scorpius' hair and he tasted of tea with too much sugar. It was lovely and Scorpius felt himself start to turn into that mushy ball of goo that he tried so hard not to. Each weekend it got more difficult.

"Good week?" Teddy murmured, pulling Scorpius against his chest in a loose but possessive hold. "We missed you. I missed you."

"Not bad," Scorpius replied, trying not to hum with pleasure. It was warm and balmy in the garden, and Teddy was thin but comfortable despite it. "Did you manage to fix all the world's problems this week?"

Teddy laughed and Scorpius relaxed as Teddy regaled him with all the terrible mishaps of the previous week in the lab where he worked. There were, without fail, at least two or three disaster stories, and the way that Teddy told it he was always the idiot that caused the problems. Scorpius knew, however, that Teddy was considered the finest scientist in the Ministry's employ – and that he was the brains behind almost all of his department's success stories for the past few years. That pleased Scorpius, although he couldn't precisely have said why. It didn't really matter, after all. And – hypothetically – if he found himself able to continue with his unusual relationship, he'd have more than enough money to support both Teddy and James if they decided not to work. He liked the idea of them not working. Mostly because he liked the idea of them at home, with Scorpius at the centre of both of their lives. The thought of them both naked and ready, at any point, was also a pleasant one. Scorpius felt himself spring to attention at the very idea. He interrupted Teddy's story with a kiss, sucking on Teddy's bottom lip before turning his attention to Teddy's neck.

Teddy made a small needy noise and his hair turned a deeper shade of red. "Not 'til James gets home," he said, pushing Scorpius away, very gently. "I promised him."

Scorpius frowned and moved a bit further away.

"Don't be like that," Teddy smiled, reaching up with one hand and trailing a finger down Scorpius' cheek. "You know what he's like. He'll sulk for a year if he doesn't get what he wants." He laughed. "Besides, someone has their homework to do."

Scorpius moved to whack Teddy and somehow the intended hit turned into something that used rather more lips and teeth, until Teddy was breathing fast and heavy, pliant and warm beneath him.

Then Scorpius moved away, and grinned at Teddy's look of loss. "Serves you right," he said.

Teddy grinned back. "You're such an arse."

"And don't you just want to be in it," Scorpius smirked.

Teddy looked shocked for a moment, his hair flashing brick red and back, then he dissolved into laughter, tugging Scorpius close and pressing kisses into his hair. "Fuck yes," he said, "but I _did_ promise James."

"He gets you all the time," Scorpius grumbled, feeling rather hard done by. "And you get him. Why should I have to wait?"

"Well, get your homework done and then I'll give James a call. Your pleas might melt his frozen heart," Teddy teased.

"Yeah, whatever," Scorpius said, pushing Teddy down and doing his best to have his wicked way with Teddy, whose hair was growing more vivid by the second.

However, to Scorpius' disgust, Teddy managed to wriggle out from under him on the bench, fleeing for the relative safety of their kitchen on the pretence of getting Scorpius a drink. Scorpius was impressed by his self-control – given that Teddy's trousers were brilliantly tented at the crotch – despite himself. He certainly wasn't going to do his homework though, no fucking way. Not with the expectation of James getting home, and both men lavishing attention upon him. It was more than a body could stand.

*****

 

"Scorp!" James all but yelled, toeing off his shoes as he entered the living room, his hair wild and his grin infectious.

"Call me that again and I'll eviscerate you," Scorpius mumbled, through a mouthful of James hair. James hadn't waited to be greeted, flinging himself on Scorpius and scattering the books that Scorpius had been pretending to read. James' hips were moving against Scorpius' and his mouth was hot and wet against Scorpius' throat.

"Missed you," James mumbled against Scorpius' neck. Then he leapt up, grabbing at Scorpius' hand and tugging him up. His eyes were wide and his lips parted. "Bed," he suggested. "Now." Then he looked around. "Teddy?" he called. "We're going to fuck now, get your arse over here."

Teddy emerged from the kitchen. "Hello to you too," he said. He smiled, his face pink. "Have you checked that Scorpius has, you know, what we talked about." He waved a hand.

"Oh, fucking hell, must we?" James said, wrinkling his nose.

Scorpius heart was beating a bit faster than usual. "What?"

"Have you done your sodding homework, Scorpius?" James asked, "because dad here's decided that we can't have fun until you've done it, this time."

"Pardon?" Scorpius said, folding his arms and trying not to get angry.

Teddy looked a bit sheepish, his eyes skidding away from Scorpius' accusing stare. "Well, you haven't done it, have you? How would it look if you failed your Muggle Studies exam? Your dad already hates us, lets not give him any more ammunition."

"He doesn't know about… this," Scorpius said impatiently, hoping very much that that was the case. "He thinks we're all friends."

"And friends don't let friends fuck up their exams," Teddy said firmly. "Tell him, James. I didn't let _you_ screw up yours."

"Yeah, but I just fucked Scorpius when you were being a pain in the—" James started, and then hastily shut up.

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "You going to do that now?"

James bit his lip, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. "I want to," he said. "C'mon Teddy, we haven't seen him all week. It's not right to piss about like this."

James pulled Scorpius close and rubbed against him. Scorpius gasped and tried not come on the spot. James was warm and muscular, and Scorpius could feel James' heart beating rapid and strong. James shoved his tongue in Scorpius' mouth and licked. It wasn't refined and it wasn't subtle, but Scorpius nearly died from want.

Teddy made a cross noise, and James released Scorpius reluctantly, holding out a hand to Teddy. "Come on, Ted," James all but whined. "I want to."

"_No_," Teddy said, clearing his throat. "Not until he's—"

James dropped Scorpius hand and dived for the floor, shuffling through the papers that he'd knocked aside when he'd entered the room. "Which is the stupid homework?" he grumbled, pulling a face. "We'll do it together and we'll do it quick before I die from lack of blood to the brain."

Scorpius shrugged. "It's the brown textbook. I have to write an essay about some ridiculous crap or other. Heidonasm or heamonism or something. I didn't really pay attention."

James had his knees up, leaning up against the sofa. He flicked through the textbook until he got to the relevant chapter and read for a moment, his lips moving. Then, to Scorpius' surprise, he grinned, very widely. "Brilliant," he said. "I think this calls for a practical demonstration. Catch." He threw the book at Teddy, who was frowning, his hair a dark, dirty black colour.

Teddy read for a moment, the crease in his forehead deepening. He raised an eyebrow. "Demonstration?"

"We could test the various hypotheses," James explained. "Bung it back over here."

Teddy obliged, and James caught the book with the easy reflexes of a Quidditch player. "Yeah," James said, "we could test whether Mill or Bentham was right, you know." He nodded towards Scorpius. "On him. A practical lesson. It'd count as studying, it would, definitely."

Teddy held up his hand and James chucked the book back over. Teddy re-read the section. He sighed, and then shrugged. "Okay, okay, I give in. It counts. Just about."

"What are you two going on about?" Scorpius asked, feeling rather annoyed. He didn't want to study. He wanted to undress the two irritating sods in front of him and he wanted to do it now. "Start making sense or I'm going to get pissed off."

"We're going to teach you a lesson," James grinned – a grin that was almost a leer – and grabbed at Scorpius' hand, reaching over to pull Teddy in also, Apparating them all upstairs.

"Right," James said, pushing Scorpius onto the bed and rifling through the pages of the book. "I'll be teacher."

Teddy let out a snort and tried to straighten out his face when James mock-glared at him, sitting down behind Scorpius and pressing a kiss to the back of Scorpius' neck. "Yes, sir," Teddy said, his voice alive with laughter.

"Shut up, idiot," James said. "Right. Repeat after me, Mr Malfoy, hedonism is a Muggle philosophy which advocates a life lived to maximise pleasure and minimise pain."

Scorpius perked up at that. Maximising pleasure sounded good to him, particularly if Teddy continued to do _that thing_ with his tongue just below Scorpius' left ear. "Yeah, okay, hedonism, pleasure, blah blah. Get over here, James."

"You will address me as sir," James said severely. "And stop that, Mr Lupin, or I'll be forced to give you a detention."

Scorpius felt rather than heard Teddy laugh, Teddy's chest vibrating against his back. "Sorry, sir," Teddy said, and jabbed Scorpius' side to indicate that it was his turn to apologise.

"Right, sorry, _sir_," Scorpius said, smirking. "Get over here, _sir_."

"Silence!" James said. "I'm teaching a lesson." He tapped the book. "Let me tell you about Jeremy Bentham's school of thought. He took a quantitative approach." He frowned. "Right. So he thought that it wasn't just how many times you had fun, but you also had to take into account how hot each time was and how long it lasted."

"So, what do you suggest, sir?" Teddy asked.

James looked thoughtful. "Don't you want to hear about John Stuart Mill and what he thought?" His lips quirked.

"I think Bentham will be a good start," Teddy said, his breath hot against Scorpius' neck. "Don't want to overload poor Scorpius' brain."

"Well then, hands off," James said, chucking the book aside and chucking off his robe to reveal a plain black t-shirt and boxers. "I get first dibs, remember? You promised."

"Oh, that's fine, sir," Teddy said. Scorpius could hear the smirk in his voice. "You get the lesser, quicker pleasure and I'll follow up with the extended bliss."

"Oh fuck you," James said mildly. "If you think I'm just going to sit back and watch then you're an idiot."

"Excuse me?" Scorpius said. He was feeling a bit bewildered, but the bulge in his boxer shorts was telling him that everything was going to be just fine. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to toss you off," James said, grinning rather wickedly. "If you can tell me what Bentham's theory was, that is."

Scorpius gaped at him.

"Come on, gorgeous," James said. "I want to get to grips with your cock. Tell teacher the answer."

"Oh, something about pleasure and levels of pleasure," Scorpius hazarded.

"Not good enough," James said, frowning. "Try again."

Scorpius took a deep breath and thought hard. "A quantitative approach? He thought that longer, more intense pleasures were better?"

"Yeah, that'll do," James said. "And he liked lots of pleasures as well, the kinky fucker."

Scorpius laughed, but the laugh turned into a gasp when James jumped on him, shoving a hand down his trousers. His hand was working fast, his grip tight. James' mouth was wet and soft against his own. Scorpius could feel Teddy's eyes on them both, and when he leaned back he felt Teddy's arms tighten around his sides.

Scorpius tried to pull away. He could feel a coil of pleasure tighten in his stomach. His legs started to tremble. He was going to come. He was going to come in under a minute. He was going to come in _under a fucking minute and—_

Teddy's mouth moved against Scorpius' shoulder, a wet, hard bite.

Scorpius came, fucking James' hand for all he was worth, James watching his face with his mouth open.

When his breath returned to him, James licked his lips and smiled. His face was sheened with sweat. "God, you make the best face when you come," he said. "It's the hottest thing in the history of the world, ever."

Teddy laughed. "Thanks," he said.

"Oh, shut up," James said. "You know you agree."

"Possibly," Teddy said. "Except being behind Scorpius, I couldn't exactly see his face."

"Oh, we'll have to fix that right away," James said. He began to tug at Scorpius' clothes, pulling them off with surprising speed.

"Right away?" Scorpius asked, faintly. His limbs felt heavy and relaxed.

"Yeah, you git. I want you to fuck me."

Scorpius suddenly felt very wide awake. James had never asked for that before. He didn't even know if James had ever let Teddy do that. From the look on Teddy's face he never had.

"What?" James said, looking rather defensive. "It's part of the experiment. You can fuck Scorpius, and Scorpius can fuck me."

"All together?" Teddy said, his hair flashing a spectacular green, before he frowned and it dulled to a dirty brown.

"Yep," James said. He bit his lip. "That's okay, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes," Scorpius said, very quickly. "Please, Teddy, it's okay with me." He twisted, kissing Teddy's cheek. Teddy shifted and Scorpius could feel Teddy's hard-on press into his back.

"Whatever sir commands," Teddy said, a bit faintly. "Yeah, it's fine."

"Brilliant!" James said, reaching over Scorpius to tug at Teddy's clothes. "Get 'em off, my Tedster."

"_Tedster_?" Teddy snorted. "Are you kidding?"

"Yep," James said, grinning. "But get a move on."

"You're still dressed," Scorpius pointed out.

"As are you, mostly," James said.

They looked at each other. James tugged at Scorpius, and Scorpius tugged at Teddy, and they half-tumbled off the bed, dragging at robes and socks and pants until they were all naked.

"You're very pretty," James said to Scorpius, half-way between admiring and mocking.

"Of course I _oh_," Scorpius said, biting down a moan as James dropped to his knees and took Scorpius' cock full in his mouth.

Teddy, his eyes wide, walked over and kissed Scorpius. The feeling was incredible, Scorpius thought. Teddy's tongue against his own, and James' hot, wet mouth around his cock. When Scorpius reached down to grip Teddy's own cock, his hand brushed against James' hair.

After a few agonisingly brilliant minutes, Teddy let Scorpius' cock slide from his mouth. He crawled between Scorpius' legs and turned. "Oi, Teddy, down here," James called.

Teddy slid down Scorpius' body, taking James' place between Scorpius' legs. Scorpius tried not to die when he felt – simultaneously – James' tongue taking a wet lick against his arsehole, and Teddy's tongue taking a wet lick along his cock.

Together, James and Teddy teased and teased Scorpius until his legs were so weak, so shaky, that he could barely keep himself standing up.

"Are you thinking about Bentham?" James said, pulling away and pressing a kiss to the base of Scorpius' spine.

"Fuck, no," Scorpius said. "I mean, yes, of course. Ah!" He trembled and nearly fell as Teddy's tongue moved across the head of his aching, leaking cock. James had his hands hard on Scorpius' hips and kept him upright.

"Remember Bentham," James said, as he quickly Summoned the lube from the bedside table. He crawled onto the bed with his arse in the air. "And please put your fingers up me now."

Scorpius swallowed and tried not to fumble the catch when James threw the jar at him. One finger made James squirm, and he groaned in a way that Scorpius wasn't quite sure if it was pleasure or pain. So he added more lube and tried again, sliding his finger in and out as James' muscles clenched around his finger.

"That's a nice sight," Teddy said, his voice very low. "Can I join in?"

Scorpius nodded, shoving the lube over in Teddy's direction and also getting on the bed. Soon he felt Teddy's cold, slick fingers against his own arsehole. It felt good. Really fucking good. So good that he wanted to share the good. Two fingers went into James' arse without too much difficulty, so he tried three. James was making gasping noises, and rocking himself back and forward. Scorpius took this as a good sign.

Scorpius slicked up his cock with lube, trying not to tremble at the wet, delicious sensation. "James? May I?" he asked.

James audibly swallowed, but nodded. "Yeah."

Scorpius lined himself up, pressing gently against James' arsehole. For a moment James' muscles clenched and he was too tight. But then James relaxed and the head of Scorpius' cock slipped through the ring of muscle. James made an incoherent sound and Scorpius stroked his back, reaching between James' legs to stroke his semi-hard cock.

"Move," James said after a moment.

Scorpius did. Little rocking movements, getting deeper in James with each push. He was sweating, and James' skin was damp against his own. The feeling of being in James, with Teddy's fingers inside his own arse, was mind-blowing.

And then Scorpius felt something larger against his arsehole. He took a deep breath and pushed against it. Teddy groaned, and James made a low, aroused noise.

And then they all moved. It took a while to get the rhythm right. But then it worked, skin slick and fingers hard enough on hips to bruise. Scorpius had never felt so full. Every movement made him want to explode. His cock hard and surrounded by twitching muscles. Teddy inside him, grinding on his nerves. It was almost unbearable. It was fucking _fantastic_.

And then James came. James _never_ came first, it was a point of pride he often said with a big grin. But he came with a cry, his insides squeezing tight around Scorpius' cock. Scorpius kept fucking him, hard and fast. James was making noises, little mewls and unbelievably hot moans.

And then the world tightened into a hot, shuddery place and Scorpius himself came, shooting streams of come into James.

As he did so he felt Teddy stiffen and slam into him, so hard he nearly knocked Scorpius' head into the wall. They fell, all three of them into a tangled, sweaty heap on the bed. Scorpius found himself the filling in a warm, sticky sandwich. James was stroking his face and Teddy kissing the side of his neck. It was bliss.

"So, did you come to any conclusions about Bentham's theory?" James said after a time.

"I think the hypothesis was flawed," Teddy said. "Plus we didn't have a control for the experiment. And we didn't make notes."

"That's terrible," Scorpius mumbled, half asleep. "I'm going to fail and it's your fault, both of you."

"Oh fuck off," James said, laughing and pulling him closer. "We'll just have to do it again, to make sure you understand the theory properly."

"Not to mention that of John Stuart Mill," Teddy said thoughtfully.

"But now we sleep. You'll need your strength for the next round," James said. "Oh, and I love you, you know," he said, his voice casual.

Scorpius stiffened. Was James talking to Teddy?

"We both do," Teddy said, throwing a hand over Scorpius' stomach. "And we know that you doubt it."

"A Malfoy never doubts his public's devotion," Scorpius said, his heart beating double time.

"Yeah, but we do love you, you know. Very much. Whatever you decide to do in the future, we're here for you," Teddy said. He also spoke casually, as if what he was saying wasn't the best, most important, thing in the world, ever.

"Plus you're hot," James said, his voice amused. "That helps."

Scorpius smirked. "Naturally. It goes without saying."

They all lay there quietly for a while before Scorpius had the courage to say anything. "I can't promise anything," he said, very stiffly. "But—"

"Ah, shut up," James said. "You don't need to say anything, you idiot. We know. Are you ready for another go yet?"

Scorpius didn't know what the future would bring, how long his courage would hold, but for now, in this house, he knew what he wanted. "Always," he said.

And when James laughed, rather mockingly, and questioned his physical ability to carry out that promise, Scorpius was more than happy to prove it to him – and Teddy – all over again.


End file.
